GM Installing Solar Tracking EV Station

Envision Solar has broken ground on a Solar Tree tracking PV and electric vehicle charging system at General Motors’ Milford Proving Ground in Michigan.

The patent pending, dual synchronous EnvisionTrak solar tracking system allows the array to capture 25 percent more solar power than a conventional fixed solar canopy. The structure will produce up to 30,000 kilowatt hours a year and provide enough solar energy to charge six electric vehicles per day, Envision says.

GM describes the solar tree as an “ideal renewable energy solution” due to its ability to pull solar power from areas where traditional methods aren’t feasible due to space or structural restrictions.

This deployment, part of a larger program, is the second Tracking Solar Tree on GM property. In November 2011, the two companies cut the ribbon on a Solar Tree at a GM site in Warren, Mich.

In August this year Envision began construction on a solar tree array at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers – National Electrical Contractors Association (IBEW-NECA) Local 595 training center. The 46,000 square foot, zero net energy facility in the San Francisco Bay Area will be home to over 2,000 IBEW apprentice and journey-level electricians, along with NECA contractors that cover Alameda County and beyond.